Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Character Deep Dive – Wilhelm

Welcome back, traveler, to the second of our Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel character deep dives. Today, we’re turning our attention from Athena (the subject of last week’s examination) to the man with the tin can (body): Wilhelm.

If you played Borderlands 2, you’ll remember Wilhelm as one of the game’s early bosses. As The Pre-Sequel takes place before the events of that game, Wilhelm is still alive (oh, and he’s a little bit more human).

His active ability brings two flying drones into battle. Wolf is his attack dog, zeroing in on enemies and dealing out damage. Saint hangs back to shield and heal Wilhelm. Calling them back earlier reduces the cooldown timer.

Two of the three trees focus on making Wolf or Saint stronger. The third is all a bout stripping Wilhelm of his humanity.

Laser Guided: While Wolf and Saint are active, tapping a button has Wolf target the enemy under your reticle. That enemy receives extra damage from all sources.

Kill Switch: Wolf dive bombs and explodes when recalled, runs out of health, or expires

Omega Strike: Wolf periodically shoots missiles

Play Style: Aggressive support in co-op, good for solo

Hunter-Killer gives up the healing and shield buffs from Saint in favor of dealing bigger and better damage with Wolf. Laser guided gives you better control over Wolf, while other skills keep him in the game longer.

Nearly every skill in this tree has a benefit for your attack drone. And, at the bottom, Wolf gets some pretty devastating ordnance.

Skill Tree: Cyborg Commando

Notable Skills

Man and Machine - Increased shield capacity for you and Wolf

First to Fight - Increased Gun Damage, but bonus is lost after five seconds in battle. Bonus recharges after five seconds of not dealing or taking damage.

Power Fist - Replaces Wilhelm’s left arm with a cyborg fist and makes gives your punch extended range and explosive power (12 second cooldown).

This was my favorite tree of the preview. Not only do you see Wilhelm change as you level up, but his voice deepens and becomes more synthetic.

The abilities that play of shield depletion give Wilhelm a fighting chance in dangerous situations, and that vengeance cannon capstone ability is a beast. Wolf and Saint are still there, but they play a significantly diminished role for players focused solely on the Cyborg Commando tree.